Scholar Reports to Rotary

My ambassadorial scholar year preparation began over two years ago when I submitted my application to the Salem Downtown club in Salem, Oregon. Upon receiving the scholarship after various practice interviews with my sponsor Rotarians, essays and forms, I chose to study in Chile. Having previously studied abroad in Nicaragua, one of the poorest countries in Latin America, I thought experiencing a Latin American country with a very different level of economic development would further compliment my understanding of Latin American political, social and economic issues. Two added benefits are Chile’s extensive natural diversity of mountain lakes and deserts, and the tasty seafood near the port cities.
To prepare for my year in Chile I immediately incorporated studying its history and culture into my final year of university coursework. For my Spanish major thesis I investigated public opinion surrounding the response of the Chilean president, Michelle Bachelet, to a major public transportation initiative and student strikes in 2006. The following semester I completed my Politics major thesis tracing the development of nongovernmental organizations in Chile. I also read various recounts by travel journalists and novels by Chilean authors, such as Isabel Allende.
To gain a better understanding of Rotary, I attended various meetings and events throughout the year prior to my departure for Chile. I attended club meetings, the district conference and an international project fair in my sponsor district. While I was working in Alaska during the summer of 2008 I attended a meeting and made a brief presentation at a club in Anchorage, Alaska. The following fall I when I was interning in Washington DC I connected with a club and attended some of their meetings. I also became involved with a local Rotaract club participating in their meetings and service activities. By the time I left for Chile I left very confident in my understanding both of Chile and of Rotary and what my role would be as an Ambassadorial Scholar.
In Chile I am studying in the department of political science at the Universidad de Concepción in Concepción, Chile. Concepción is located south of the capital of Santiago about six hours and has a temperate climate near a port city. It is the second largest city in Chile with a population of about 300,000 in the city center, but close to double that in if the surrounding communities are also included.
Walking to campus the first day of classes with very little information about the registration process was a little unnerving, but I connected with at student host, organized my classes and was even invited out for lunch with some of the other international students that afternoon. I am taking courses on political economy, public and social policy, international public law and a special elective course on the public and social policy management in Chile. My Spanish language comprehension is progressing and I am able to understand just about everything the professors discuss in class. I am only at a loss when they, or the other students, make jokes! But I am told that is the most difficult element of a foreign language to learn.
The Rotarians in my host district have been very welcoming, especially my host counselor who has helped me immensely. She hosted me for a few days while I looked for housing options and has invited me for many weekend barbeques with her family and friends. Shortly after I first arrived I attended a district leadership conference and a district Rotaract conference. I also joined the Rotaract club of Concepción and have participated in two daylong service projects with them. They have a partnership with a local low-income community about twenty minutes outside of town. Our first project was a cultural day at the community center where we entertained the kids, painted faces and played games throughout the afternoon. In the evening the parents and Rotarians came to share Chilean ‘onces’ or the evening meal of tea, coffee and bread. During ‘onces’ the president of the Rotaract club presented a new joint project with the Universidad de Concepción’s dentistry department and Rotary to offer low-cost dental care to the children of the community. The following weekend the Rotaract club organized an excursion to a local park for the community children. There we spent the day playing soccer, touring a museum and exploring the beach.
I have also presented at two Rotary meetings, each unique from my experience at Rotary meetings in the States. One of the first differences I realized is that most all of clubs in my host district are either all men or all women. I believe my host club is the only one in the district that is mixed. All meetings here are also evening meetings, normally beginning at seven or eight.
The first meeting where I presented took place in the home of one of the Rotarians. The club has seven members, all but one of who have been members of the club for over fifteen years. It was a great experience to share a dinner with the Rotarians during their meeting. They are very active in the community, especially in organizing different fundraising events to support local schools. Their most recent donation as a result of these efforts was a new ping-pong table for a high school in their community. As we finished our dessert, I placed my laptop on the table and gave my PowerPoint presentation. I also had a photo album of the same pictures on the PowerPoint that I passed around. The Rotarians were very curious about what Rotary is like in the States. I felt very prepared to answer their questions having participating in many Rotary activities in different clubs and districts.
My second presentation was for my host Rotary club, Talcahuano Sur. The meeting was much more formal than the previous. It was held in a beautiful dining room on the naval base. The purpose of the meeting was to honor the visiting Group Study Exchange team. Also on the agenda was the presentation of a youth exchange student from Germany, as well as my presentation. The meeting started with drinks and appetizers at about eight p.m. After a three-course dinner, three presentations and tea, my host counselor and I did not leave until after midnight. This was a very different experience than the well-organized, strict one-hour or hour and half breakfast and lunch meetings I attended in the States.
My last presentation was at the welcome ceremony for the international students at the Universidad de Concepción. I am not sure exactly why this event was held more than two months after the start of the semester, but there are frequently things that happen here that I do not completely understand. The international student affairs director invited me to share a bit about my experience in Chile and the Ambassadorial scholarship. I gave a modified version of my presentation, and focusing on Rotary and my activities with Rotaract in Concepción.
Next week I start volunteering to teach English at a rural school outside of Concepción. The Ambassadorial Scholar that was here the year before volunteered at the school and highly recommended it to me. Last week I went out to the school and met with the school director and the English teacher I will be assisting. They are very excited to have me and believe the children will be benefit from having a native English speaker.
My experience in Chile has been wonderful and I have been welcomed by Chileans everywhere I go. Prior to coming to Concepción, I spent a month in a city about eight hours north, Viña del Mar, for intensive language classes. There I stayed with a host mom who was absolutely wonderful. We had lengthy lunch conversations about Chilean history, the education system, her travels to Russia and Ecuador, her children and all of the places she had lived in Chile. She also had lived for two years in Texas because of her husband’s job with the Chilean navy. We discussed her impressions of the United States and the difference between the Pacific Northwest, where I am from, and Texas. Frequently her recently married daughter and son-in-law visited for lunch or went with us on day trips to near by beaches. They went above and beyond anything I could have hoped for in my first month in Chile.
Outside of my Rotary and Rotaract connections I have become good friends with a few of the other exchange students from Mexico, Canada and the United States. It has been such a great intercultural experience spending time with them. I am working on building relationships with some of my Chilean classmates, but as friends who previously studied in Chile have told me, it is very difficult to break into social circles. I’ve spent some with my classmates outside of class, but find that it is easier to befriend the international students because we sharing a similar experience adjusting to Chile and a shared desire to travel. With my other international friends we have explored near by national parks, planned trips to Argentina and toured local museums.
To conclude this report, I would love to thank all of the Rotarians that have supported me throughout the past two years. My year in Chile is the culmination of more than a year and a half of preparation from the application process to my departure date. I am having an incredible time here sharing my culture through daily conversations and service activities, and learning about this fascinating and distinct country. I am very aware of the time and money Rotary has invested in me and I am doing my very best to be an effective and gracious Ambassadorial scholar. Thank you for your support!

Read more at Lindsay's personal blog: http://lindsayathomeandabroad.blogspot.com/